Alleged new Muppet pilot is in the works?

[LittleJerry92]

Speaking for myself, I have to admit that I’m still not sold on Matt Vogel performing as Kermit at all. Don’t get me wrong—I do think he’s a talented performer, but I just don’t think he’s the right person for the role. He struggles to capture the personality and charisma of the character that both Jim Henson and Steve Whitmire conveyed so well.

Something I have kind of noticed with Matt’s Kermit, it seems more like he tries to focus on his voice rather than his personality. Whereas with Steve, he definitely focused on his Kermit voice but didn’t otherwise make it the main focus and still captures his personality down perfectly. Maybe not on the level of Jim Henson, but it’s there.

I would say instances of Kermit acting like a bitter victim in movies and shows like “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas” and the 2015 series are more just unfortunate directions of how Disney wanted Kermit’s character to go at that time. I don’t have good reason to believe these were all improved on Steve’s end.

Could Steve have been difficult to work with behind the scenes? Maybe. I only met him once at a convention in 2018, definitely a nice guy and very down to Earth and overall a great guy to talk to. I could sense the warmness in him. That said, I haven’t worked with him in production for television. I don’t know what he’s like behind that. But far as I’m concerned, I think Disney was just looking for a petty excuse to fire Steve after the 2015 series was cancelled. Frankly I felt bad seeing him crying in one interview after his firing. I could see the pain in his eyes. That all being said, I’m just glad to see he’s now moved his life forward.

 

[Muppets12]

Something I have kind of noticed with Matt’s Kermit, it seems more like he tries to focus on his voice rather than his personality. Whereas with Steve, he definitely focused on his Kermit voice but didn’t otherwise make it the main focus and still captures his personality down perfectly. Maybe not on the level of Jim Henson, but it’s there.

I would say instances of Kermit acting like a bitter victim in movies and shows like “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas” and the 2015 series are more just unfortunate directions of how Disney wanted Kermit’s character to go at that time. I don’t have good reason to believe these were all improved on Steve’s end.

Could Steve have been difficult to work with behind the scenes? Maybe. I only met him once at a convention in 2018, definitely a nice guy and very down to Earth and overall a great guy to talk to. I could sense the warmness in him. That said, I haven’t worked with him in production for television. I don’t know what he’s like behind that. But far as I’m concerned, I think Disney was just looking for a petty excuse to fire Steve after the 2015 series was cancelled. Frankly I felt bad seeing him crying in one interview after his firing. I could see the pain in his eyes. That all being said, I’m just glad to see he’s now moved his life forward.

In regards to Steve Whitmire, I do believe him when it comes to his side of the story about what happened. Like you said, we don't know for sure what he was like behind the scenes on these productions, but I do think that he had the best of intentions in standing up for the integrity of the Muppets. Many of his friends, colleagues, and fans have come out in recent years and have nothing but kind things to say about him. At the GalaxyCon virtual convention 2022 panel for Sesame Street, Frank Oz said that Steve Whitmire was “right on” with his performance as Ernie, even though it was understandably a difficult adjustment given the circumstances. Even after his characters were recast, Frank Oz continued to return to perform Bert on some occasions opposite Steve Whitmire’s Ernie.
While I haven’t had the opportunity to meet him in person yet, I did send him an email several months ago, and he was very gracious in his response.
As for A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (which was actually made before the Muppets were sold to Disney) and The Muppets 2015 show, while I’m not a fan of either, I do believe Steve Whitmire really tried his best with the material he was given. He may not have sounded exactly like Jim Henson, but I do think he captured Kermit’s personality very well. In a 1990 interview, Jane Henson even said that Jim Henson had essentially chosen who he wanted to take over as Kermit after he was gone.
I recently watched The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street for the first time, and it was another great reminder of how wonderful both Jim Henson and Steve Whitmire were in performing Kermit.
Even though I’m still disappointed about what happened and wish he were still working with Sesame Street and the Muppets, I’m glad Steve Whitmire has moved on with his life.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Right, I know it was before they acquired the Muppets, I had forgotten it aired on NBC and thought it was on ABC and figured it was during a pre-acquisition period of rights negotiations.

Regardless, I don’t know what direction went with Kermit in that movie but I feel like Disney just copied and pasted what was there over to Kermit for future stuff. It sounds to me fellow Muppeteers enjoyed performing with Steve (I would certainly imagine), it seems more likely Steve just possibly had a poor relationship with Disney (and for that matter the Hensons with how they’ve presented themselves). Honestly again, just knowing Disney as a company now, I’m sure they were looking for some petty reason to let him go.

I never saw the Best of Kermit tape until my teenage years and it is definitely one I wish I had found a copy of at a video store near me during the single digit years. It felt nice getting to see Kermit shine in a home video outside of Big Bird’s Story Time where he makes a brief cameo at the end. It honestly makes me wish Steve could have just continued performing as Kermit on both “Sesame Street” AND whatever Muppet Show-related projects were going on but I understand Sesame Workshop never had full ownership of Kermit and Jim’s passing ultimately took away the status of popping up regularly in the show.

Regardless though, he always felt the same to me since I was used to seeing him in multiple forms of Muppet media anyway, so that’s how you know Steve did a great job continuing Jim’s legacy as Kermit.

 

[Muppets12]

Right, I know it was before they acquired the Muppets, I had forgotten it aired on NBC and thought it was on ABC and figured it was during a pre-acquisition period of rights negotiations.

Regardless, I don’t know what direction went with Kermit in that movie but I feel like Disney just copied and pasted what was there over to Kermit for future stuff. It sounds to me fellow Muppeteers enjoyed performing with Steve (I would certainly imagine), it seems more likely Steve just possibly had a poor relationship with Disney (and for that matter the Hensons with how they’ve presented themselves). Honestly again, just knowing Disney as a company now, I’m sure they were looking for some petty reason to let him go.

I never saw the Best of Kermit tape until my teenage years and it is definitely one I wish I had found a copy of at a video store near me during the single digit years. It felt nice getting to see Kermit shine in a home video outside of Big Bird’s Story Time where he makes a brief cameo at the end. It honestly makes me wish Steve could have just continued performing as Kermit on both “Sesame Street” AND whatever Muppet Show-related projects were going on but I understand Sesame Workshop never had full ownership of Kermit and Jim’s passing ultimately took away the status of popping up regularly in the show.

Regardless though, he always felt the same to me since I was used to seeing him in multiple forms of Muppet media anyway, so that’s how you know Steve did a great job continuing Jim’s legacy as Kermit.

Yes, it honestly felt like Disney has no idea what to do with Kermit, especially in recent years.
And yes, it was truly great to see Steve Whitmire perform as Kermit on Sesame Street. Aside from The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, I really enjoyed seeing him in the "Slimey Goes to the Moon" and the "Hurricane" storylines, as well as in CinderElmo. He seemed to fit in well with the dynamics of the other characters. Of course, I’ll admit I was surprised to see Kermit in "Elmo's World: Frogs" back when Season 40 first aired.
And in the end, I will always be grateful for the amazing work that Steve Whitmire has done over the years.

 

[Muppets12]

My final thoughts on this:
I don’t mean to come across as cynical or blunt, but enough is enough with Disney, as far as I’m concerned. They've milked the MCU and Star Wars so hard that even general audiences have lost interest (especially with the poor quality of their recent productions). I've heard the Lilo & Stitch remake this year was awful, and all three Marvel films released this year underperformed at the box office. We really don’t need a Toy Story 5, and I’d advise everyone to skip it when it hits theaters.
I haven’t seen K-Pop Demon Hunters yet, but I think the reason it’s resonating with audiences is that it offers something fresh and new to watch—without pushing any agendas. I feel like Disney has completely lost sight of how to make quality films.
If any of you are looking forward to future Muppets productions, I hope you enjoy them. That being said, I won’t be watching any of them, especially since I gave up on the franchise after the failure of The Muppets 2015 series.
Just to be clear (in case I wasn’t earlier), I’ve long accepted that Frank Oz isn’t involved with the Muppets anymore, for a variety of reasons. Eric Jacobson has done a great job taking over his characters, and Frank Oz has even expressed his approval of him. At the same time, it’s a bit frustrating to see that Disney won’t accept any creative input from him or anyone else.
As I mentioned before, while I am still very dismayed by the way Disney treated Steve Whitmire and fired him, I’m glad he has been able to move on with his life, because that’s what matters most here.
The bottom line is, with the way Disney has been treating the Muppets in the past several years, I personally don't think they should continue at this point. But that’s just my opinion.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Disney is just nothing more than a shell of its former self at this point, but I feel like that’s just the equivalent of saying water is wet.

Far as I’m concerned though, their true colors only really began to show by the 2010s and just gradually got worse.

 

[Muppets12]

Disney is just nothing more than a shell of its former self at this point, but I feel like that’s just the equivalent of saying water is wet.

Far as I’m concerned though, their true colors only really began to show by the 2010s and just gradually got worse.

Indeed. I have not watched a new Disney movie or show in years, and that won't change at all in the future. Nowadays, I'm very selective about the shows and movies I watch.